Geonesis NOVEMBER 2015

(A GEMCO KATI INITIATIVE)

Indian Mining & Exploration Updates

VOLUME 2,ISSUE 12

DIWALI FOR MINERS . . . WHEN??

VOLUME 2 , ISSUE 12 — NOVEMBER 2015

Page 1

A report by Ernst and Young and the Federation of Indian Min-

eral Industries says that the government should complete explo-

ration of mines before auctioning and the Geological Survey of

India has been unable to complete the exploration for most miner-

als. What do you have to say on this?

For the blocks that are going to be auctioned, the exploration ex-

ercise has been done. GSI or MECL or in some cases state govern-

ments – they have carried out the exploration to the extent re-

quired.

Q You are also floating global tenders for the aerial geograph-

ical survey of mineral rich states. What’s the status now?

We want the primary survey for exploration should be completed

in the next three to four years. So that after that a detailed explo-

ration can be started wherever there’s a possibility. At present we are not too sure about the areas, though we know that these are

the potential core areas for minerals, but exactly in which areas

the minerals are located, we don’t have that much of an idea. So we feel that once this aerial geophysical and electromagnetic sur-

vey is carried out then detailed and regional exploration can be

taken up. This will be for the first time that

global tenders are being floated.

Q Why did Rajasthan, Maharashtra and

Gujarat say they would manage the mines

on their own? How is the Centre coordi-

nating with them?

Some of the states are carrying out surveys

themselves. Either they have engaged

agencies/ outsourced surveys to agencies

or their own staff is carrying out total sta-

tion survey and differential GPS. Where

they don’t have adequate manpower or technical expertise, there they have asked

us to provide. In turn we have requested Mecon to depute some

empanelled agencies.

Q Gold mines too are being auctioned…

Out of the 80 blocks that we’re are targeting, there are two-three

blocks of gold.

Q What about the Kolar gold mine?

Kolar gold mine is closed. We are examining the matter and we

will take some decision shortly.

Q Any other latest development on this front?

Mining tenement system. We have floated RFP (request for pro-

posals). We expect the vendor to be finalized in the next one and

a half months. Under this MTS from one end to another, all the

processes and all the steps would be computerized and automat-

ed. Some states have taken some steps in this like Odisha. The

state has automated its system. We want to have all-India auto-

mated, computerized application system

CAN’T SAY AT THIS MOMENT THAT MINERAL BLOCK AUCTION WOULD BE A

HUGE Q Various mineral producing states have identified 80-90

blocks that will be auctioned by November. The Centre is

hand-holding the states. What’s the status of the auctions?

Nearly 80 blocks in 8 to 9 states shave been identified. Current-

ly they are under the process of differential GPS. Once that is

finished, they will start work on documentation etc. and other

steps required for auction. Hopefully by the second or third

week of November, they will issue an NIT (notice for tender)

for auction. Once that’s done, it will take another two to three months to complete the auctioning and other formalities.

Q And the Centre is hand-holding the states…

Where the states have demanded, we are carrying out the hand

-holding exercise. Some states have asked us for survey.

Q Spectrum auction and coal block auctions were huge hits.

Will the coming mines auction be another such blockbuster?

We can’t say at this moment. Some of the states are having iron ore mines like Karnataka. They are going to auction all the 15

mines of iron ores. Certainly that should fetch a good

amount. For other

states, it’s sort of a mixed bag. Many blocks

are for limestone and

other minerals. So, at

this point, it’s difficult to assess and say about the

potential of total auction

amount.

You talked about the

Karnataka’s iron ore mines. What used to

happen in places like

Bellary will be a thing of the past? After so many court deci-

sions and the Shah Commission, so many developments have

taken place. I don’t think it would be possible now to revert to the pre-Jan 2015 situation in the district in the state.

Why did the value of mineral production in India come down

from Rs 285761 crore in 2012-13 to Rs 227000 crore in 2013-14?

This is primarily because the prices of iron ores, aluminium,

bauxite have fallen down in recent times in international mar-

ket. The prices of primary metals like steel, aluminium, copper,

zinc -- all have fallen. That must be the reason why the total

value of the mineral production has come down in last one

year.

Q Do you have a target or figure – by this year we would be

able to auction this value of minerals in the country? Right

now exact details are not available with us or the states. Once

the survey exercise is over, the states will come to know of

the reserve prices. Once the reserve prices are known, we can

say that this much money is expected through auctions.

VOLUME 2 , ISSUE 12 — NOVEMBER 2015

Page 2

F IRST COAL BLOCKS TO BE AUCTIONED FOR COMMERCIAL MINING IN INDIA ATA (miningweekly.com) – The Indian government will put

five to ten coal blocks up for auction by the end of November

to usher in commercial mining for the first time in the country.

According to a senior official in the Coal Ministry, the auction

for this lot of coal blocks for commercial mining would follow

the auction of eight to ten coal blocks exclusively for industries

such as steel, cement and aluminium for captive consumption

and where the end products of these companies were not price

controlled by government. He said that, since the aim of

launching commercial mining in the country was to bring in

standalone large mining or resources companies, coal blocks

with large reserves had been identified by the Ministry, each

of which could yield capacities of around 20-million tonnes a

year, larger than the average coal mines auctioned until now

for captive coal user industries. Earlier this year, the Indian

government amended the legislative environment through the

Mines, Minerals Development and Regulation Act 2015 with

enabling provisions to auction coal blocks to standalone min-

ing companies, both domestic and foreign, who would have

the freedom for merchant sale of coal to any user industry,

barring exports. However, no clarity was available on the sale

and pricing guidelines for standalone miners successful in the

auction for commercial mining. The bulk of coal production in

India, with 80% accounted for by government-owned and

managed Coal India Limited (CIL), was price administered by

the government with small volumes sold through e-auctions

by the latter. With the proposed establishment of a coal sector

regulator with a mandate to set prices having been put on the

backburner, a few pricing options for merchant coal miners

were being considered but no final decision had been taken yet,

the official said. He added that one of the options for pricing

commercially mined coal would be to benchmark it to the e-

auction price of CIL product. The second option under consider-

ation was to set up a common auction platform for commercial

coal miners, which could be operated and managed by any of

the government-owned trading firms such as MMTC Limited.

Since early this year, the government has completed the alloca-

tion of 60 coal blocks, with 34 through the auction route and the

balance awarded to government companies such as power utili-

ty NTPC Limited and Steel Authority of India Limited through

the government preferential route. However, some Coal Minis-

try officials expressed concern over responses to the auction for

commercial mining coal blocks, given the current downturn in

international coal prices. Even domestic mineral and mining

companies, particularly those in the private sector, faced a se-

vere debt overhang, with the steel sector alone accounting for

over $50-billion of stressed bank borrowings. Much of the suc-

cess of the auction and subsequent valuations of the coal blocks

would depend on the government’s recent road shows overseas, including the recent visit of Steel and Mines Minister Narendra

Singh Tomar, to Australia, with the latter government assuring

it would facilitate global resource majors, such as BHP Billiton

and Rio Tinto, increasing investment exposure in India, the

Ministry official added.

NEW LEASE OF LIFE FOR 126 STATE MINES To revive mining activities, the state government has decided

to extend the lease period of 126 mines by December in ac-

cordance with the Mines and Minerals Development and Reg-

ulation (MMDR) Act, 2015. These include leases for minerals

like iron ore, bauxite, manganese and chrome ore.

The government has so far extended the lease period of 52 of

the total 178 eligible mines. This was done in different phases.

The MMDR Act, which came into force on March 27, has pro-

visions for extension of the lease periods of all captive mines

till March 31, 2030, and non-captive mines till March 31, 2020.

"Of the 52 mines, 28 have signed lease deeds with the govern-

ment, which helped the state earn stamp duty and registration

fees worth around Rs 1,200 crore. We hope to complete the

extension process by December," director of mines Deepak

Mohanty told TOI.

The Centre had been emphasizing on early extension of lease

deeds, he added.

Among other mineral-bearing states, Rajasthan has extended

the lease period of 3,677 mines, Maharashtra 74 and Karnataka

67.

Meanwhile, the state government has also identified 12 blocks

for auction in the first phase. These include five each of iron ore

and limestone mines and one each manganese and bauxite re-

serves. "The differential global positioning system survey of

mines has been completed and geological reports will be ready

by October. The SBI Capital Markets Limited, an investment

bank, and MSTC Limited, a central PSU, will be engaged to pre-

pare the bidding documents," said an officer of the steel and

mines department.

STATES TO AUCTION 71 LEASES THIS F ISCAL Leases of 71 non-coal blocks have been lined up by ten states

to be auctioned in this fiscal. Of these states, Gujarat is likely to

put six limestone mines under the hammer within a fortnight

followed by Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.

The governments of these states have together furnished their

respective list of mines to be auctioned during a meeting con-

vened by Union mines secretary Balvinder Kumar on

September 24. Gujarat has set a target of auctioning up six leases

of limestone mines by October 31. Barring Tamil Nadu and Tel-

angana, most states seem to be prepared to auction leas-

es. While Karnataka, Maharashtra and Odisha have accorded

priority to auctioning iron ore leases, states like Rajasthan, Guja-

rat, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have lined up limestone mines

for inviting bids. (Continued on Page 3)...

Page 3

VOLUME 2 , ISSUE 12 — NOVEMBER 2015

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blocks which can be auctioned in the near future, both GSI and

MECL have furnished 245 and 58 geological reports to various

state governments. “But the states need to urgently reconcile these reports with their leasehold areas and revenue or forest

maps and pave the way for their auctions on urgent basis,” he pointed out. The mines ministry has recently circulated an advi-

sory for the grant of concessions in case of minor minerals also

through the auction route. The representatives were told to keep

the same in mind while framing the rules for minor mineral

concessions. Gujarat is learnt to have appointed SBI Caps for

drafting concession rules for such minerals for inviting bids. The

ministry has tried to sweeten the bid criteria by proposing that

preferred bidders would not be required to pay upfront payment

or royalties at the prospecting licence stage. List furnished * Kar-

nataka, Maharashtra and Odisha have accorded priority to auc-

tioning iron ore leases * Barring Tamil Nadu and Telangana,

most states seem to be prepared to auction leases. * Maharashtra

and Odisha have accorded priority to auctioning iron ore leases

For iron ore, Karnataka alone has identified leases of 15 blocks,

while Maharashtra and Odisha have also lined up at least

three such mines each for the same.

Firms like KPMG, Crisil, SBI Caps and metallurgical consult-

ant Mecon have emerged as preferred transaction advisers for

these 10 states in the impending auctions, while state-run

MSTC Limited would be the auction platform for them, their

representatives told Kumar. However, proceedings of the meet

as recorded in the minutes indicate that the states still need

certain degree of hand holding in terms of survey and de-

lineation of the mines, preparation of geological reports and

expediting transaction advisory. The mines secretary sought to

allay the apprehensions of the representatives saying PSUs

like Geological Survey of India (GSI), Indian Bureau of Mines,

MSTC, Mecon, SBI Caps and Mineral Exploration Corporation

Limited (MECL) have been assigned to handhold the state

governments” for various essential activities for auction, ac-cording to minutes. A senior ministry official told The Indian

Express that to help the states identify additional mineral

GSI TO EXPLORE LIMESTONE DEPOSITS IN CHHATTISGARH The Geological Survey of India (GSI) will be taking up explo-

ration of limestone deposits in Kharri-Parsadih block of Rai-

garh district of Chhattisgarh.

It has also decided to outsource drilling work for exploration

of limestone in Kharri-Parsadih block, officials stated.

It may be recalled that GSI will also be making an assessment

of bauxite ore deposits existing in Damchun block of Balram-

pur district in Chhattisgarh.

Limestone and dolomite deposits are located in Raigarh,

Janjgir-Champa, Kabirdham, Bilaspur, Raipur, Durg,

Rajnandgaon districts forming part of Chhattisgarh basin and

in Jagdalpur district within Indravati basin and in Dantewa-

da district in Sukma basin, according to the officials of

Chhattisgarh Mining Department.

Notably, the Chhattisgarh Government has targetted to carry

out survey and mapping for 1,000 square kms of State’s area during 2015-16 for geological exploration during the 12th five

year plan ( 2012-17).

The minerals to be explored as bauxite, limestone, iron ore,

coal, dolomite, manganese and granite, officials stated.

The Directorate of Geology & Mining is the State agency

engaged in exploration of mineral resources as well as miner-

als development and regulation work in Chhattisgarh.

The Directorate has the facility of remote sensing, cartog-

raphy,survey, drilling and petrological techniques for geological

investigations supported by the chemical laboratory

(conventional and instrumental techniques of analyses) to assess

the mineral resources. The mineral exploration works are being

carried out through three Regional Offices, Raipur, Bilaspur and

Jagdalpur, officials stated.

The grant of mineral concession, collection of revenue

and regulation of mineral concessions are being carried out

through District Offices under the control of Collector, district

concerned.

The Directorate also provides technical and legal advice, related

with grant and regulation of mineral concession to the State Gov-

ernment.

Explorations had been promised for Bauxite in Dandkesra and

Murdadand area of Surguja and Darai and Bhuski-Pakri/

Pandripani area of Kabirdham districts (two areas) , Iron ore in

notified areas of Kanker and Narayanpur districts and Pavaras

and Kachhora area of Bastar district.

Moreover, explorations are being proposed for Limestone in

Raipur, Rajnandgaon,Janjgir-Champa and Dantewada districts,

Manganese in Raipur district, Dolomite in Janjgir-Champa dis-

trict, Granite in Kanker, Bastar and Narayanpur districts, Coal in

(Continued on Page 4)...

VOLUME 2 , ISSUE 12 — NOVEMBER 2015

Page 4

Saidu area and West of Mainpat Plateau of Surguja district.

Chhattisgarh is set to earn estimated revenue of `51,596 crore

from its five mines auctioned among 29 in the country under

the provisions of Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 dur-

ing the mining lease period.

The Directorate of Geology and Mining, Chhattisgarh is also

engaged in prospecting of limestone for last many years. Subse-

quently, a large number of suitable sites for establishment of

cement plant of various magnitudes have been identified in the

State.

LEAD ROLE FOR BENGAL IN NEW COMPANY TO M INE BIRBHUM COAL Bengal today led the creation of a new coal company nearly

two centuries after it pioneered coal mining in India.

Bengal Birbhum Coalfields, where the state has the largest

share, held its first board meeting in the city today, kicking off

the process of tapping into arguably one of the bigger coal

mines of the country.

Five other states - Karnataka, Bihar, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and

Uttar Pradesh - along with public sec-

tor Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd are the

other shareholders of this company

that plans to mine coal from the blocks

which have an estimated reserves of

around 2 billion tonnes. Bengal will

have a 28 per cent share of the total

production pie, the largest among all.

Rana Som, former chairman of state-

run miner NMDC, has been nominat-

ed as the first chairman of the compa-

ny.

According to the agreement among

the states, Bengal will have the right to

nominate the first chairman who

would be at the helm for at least a

year after production begins. The state

nominated Som, who in his earlier role as chairman, had as-

sisted NMDC to partner Bengal for this Birbhum-based block.

Santanu Basu, managing director of West Bengal Power Devel-

opment Corporation Ltd, will represent Bengal on the compa-

ny's board and will officiate as its managing director as well

for the time being.

Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced the name

of the company on Twitter and also posted on Facebook:

"Bengal Birbhum Coalfields Ltd (BBCL), a new baby is born

today.

The new company will develop India's largest coal mine in Deo-

cha-Pachami, Birbhum, which is estimated to have more than 2

billion tonnes of coal. The mine will supply coal to the power

plants in Bengal and other states. Lakhs and lakhs of employ-

ment will be created and socio-economic infrastructure of the

region will change radically, giving a huge boost to the economy

and large benefits to the people."

Incidentally, Prince Dwarkanath Tagore was the first Indian to

dabble in coal mining when he took

over the operations of Alexander & Co

in 1835 for a block in Ranigunj. Later,

he founded Bengal Coal Co in 1843

along with a British firm.

State power ministry sources said it

would take another 4-5 months to com-

plete the procedural and legal aspects

of the company's operations. Upon

obtaining clearances both from the

Centre and the state, a mine develop-

ment operator would be appointed by

floating a tender.

However, industry sources said it

would be not be easy to lift coal from

the block because of its geological at-

tributes. The block is spread across an area of 1230 hectares with

coal seams concealed within a thick cover of laterite. "There are

good grades of coal within the seams. But overburden removal

and management could be a challenge," said a source.

For Bengal, the coal lifted from Deocha Pachami would be used

in WBPDCL plants. The coal could also be supplied to NTPC's

thermal power plant at Katwa. Sources, however, said NTPC

was not among the original allottees of the block and, therefore,

has no direct claim on the coal mined. However, with actual

mining still a long way from commencement, a solution could be

found by then.

JAYPEE GROUP AGAIN IN TALKS WITH JSW TO SELL ITS 20 MT CEMENT

PORTFOLIO MUMBAI: Almost eight months after initiating a dialogue,

Jaypee Group has revived its negotiations with Sajjan Jindal's

JSW to sell its entire 20-22 million tonne cement portfolio in a

bid to significantly improve its financial health, three people

familiar with the development said.

Manoj Gaur, Jaypee's executive chairman and CEO, along

with senior representatives of his lenders' consortium, is be-

lieved to have met Jindal and his top brass in the latter's

Mumbai office a fortnight back, the sources said

Jaypee Group, one of the most debt-laden conglomerates with

estimated outstanding dues of Rs 75,000 crore at the end of FY15,

had earlier this year approached JSW Cement, a private compa-

ny of the diversified JSW Group, and some other potential buy-

ers with an exploratory offer to sell a controlling 51 per cent

stake in a joint venture that would control majority of its cement

(Continued on Page 5)...

VOLUME 2 , ISSUE 12 — NOVEMBER 2015

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Jaypee's cement units are spread across Uttar Pradesh, Himachal

Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka. The lion's

share of its cement business, or approximately 14.2 million tonne,

is under the group flagship Jaiprakash Associates (JPA), which is

also the most debt laden at Rs 60,000 crore, according to Bloom-

berg data.

The rest, including the 5 million tonne Balaji Cement, are housed

under subsidiaries, joint ventures or group entities.

One of the sources quoted initially said Jaypee is likely to exclude

its first cement plant located in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, from the

proposed sale. Rating agency CARE in July downgraded JPA's

debt to default status after the company defaulted on repayment

of a non-convertible bond. Deterioration in the company's finan-

cial performance and delays in receipt of funds through asset sales

affected its liquidity position, CARE said. For the year ended

March 2015, JPA reported consolidated net loss of Rs 1,543 crore

on an operating income of Rs 19,650 crore as against net loss of Rs

703 crore on a total operating income of Rs 20,007 crore in FY14.

The company's scrip has lost 45 per cent of its market value in the

last one year. On Friday, its market capitalisation was Rs 3,264

crore.

"Even as some groups like Jaiprakash Associates and GMR cut

back on capex and looked to sell assets, their debt/EBITDA have

deteriorated further as the relatively better assets, contributing to

as much as 70 per cent of EBITDA, have been sold," wrote analysts

Ashish Gupta, Kush Shah and Prashant Kumar from Credit Suisse

in their latest 'House of Debt' report on corporate indebtedness in

India, dated October 21.

A Mumbai-based equity analyst tracking Jaypee Group said asset

sale is tough under the new mining and the only way out for Jay-

pee was to create a company and sell it. "Ultratech's acquisition of

two Jaypee Cement units is stuck for close to a year now. The

Lafarge unit sale is facing the same consequences. So Jaypee has to

transfer all its assets into a new company and sell shares of that

entity. That is the only way out. Considering its balance sheet, it

needs to get out of business entirely," the person said.

units. ET in its March 16 edition had reported about such a

plan. But those talks did not fructify.

Now, Jaypee has gone back to JSW with a proposal for a com-

plete sellout of its cement portfolio, the three sources said.

Sources, however, said the talks are still preliminary in nature

and there is no guarantee that they may lead to a transaction.

Jaypee's initial expectation of an enterprise valuation of Rs

19,000 crore ($2.9 billion) inclusive of debt for the entire cement

business could also be a spoiler, they said.

Both JSW and Jaypee's spokespersons did not wish to comment

on "market speculation".

One of the sources said Jaypee has brought on board a Big Four

consultant for due diligence and advisory related work.

Jaypee is under pressure from its lenders to sell assets and re-

structure its debt.

"Jaypee's key lenders like ICICI Bank are trying hard to con-

struct a deal as till date the asset sales have not helped the

group turn around," said a senior official at a lender with expo-

sure in both Jaypee and JSW groups. "They had earlier ap-

proached another cement player with large footprint in south

and east with a similar offer but it did not go anywhere. Unless

Jaypee's debt is restructured and lenders agree on a significant

write off, it will be exceedingly tough for anyone to take over

the assets with such high debt/equity," the person said on con-

dition of anonymity.

As per the latest estimates by Credit Suisse, Jaypee's group

debt has ballooned to Rs 75,000 crore at the end FY15 despite a

spate of asset sales from its cement, power and realty business-

es.

The Delhi-based group is among the top five cement players

nationwide even after divesting around 9 million tonnes of

capacity to local peers like UltraTech, Shree and Dalmia Bharat

for over Rs 7,000 crore. Its efforts to divest an additional 4.9

million tonne in Madhya Pradesh to UltraTech for Rs 5,400

crore is under regulatory cloud and awaiting approvals since

earlier this year.

MAKE STAND CLEAR ON POSCO, BJP TELLS GOV T Expressing concern over the abnormal delay in reviving MoU

signed with Posco, Bharatiya Janata Party state unit Wednes-

day asked the state government to

make its stand clear on the pro-

posed `52,000 crore steel unit near

Paradip. ‘‘The state has been trying to cover up its failure to implement

Posco project 10 years after signing

the MoU. Now, they are trying to

involve the Centre to shift respon-

sibility and mislead people,’’ senior BJP leader and former industries

minister Biswa Bhushan Harichandan told newspersons.

As per the amended mines and minerals development

regulation (MMDR) Act, the mines will be allotted only through

auction and even the Centre cannot lease out any mine as per the

amended Act, he said, adding, “Why is the state government trying to hood-

wink the people by blaming the Cen-

tre?’’He said the state government should convene an all-party meeting

on this issue and request the Centre

for a high-level meeting for the project.

The former minister further said, “Let the state government take a final deci-

sion in this regard after calling up

Posco for a final-round meeting on the issue.”

(Continued on Page 6)...

VOLUME 2 , ISSUE 12 — NOVEMBER 2015

Page 6

the Centre to reserve Khandadhar mines for the company. But,

the Centre rejected it saying the company has to take part in

auction process to get mines,” BJD spokesperson PK Deb said. Consequently, the state government had decided to make

a long-term ore linkage phenomenon for the Posco project

through Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC). However, the com-

pany is yet to respond to it, Deb said, adding, “The company is eying mines and the Centre can resolve it.” In so far as the

MoU is concerned, the state had written to Posco authorities,

but, the company is yet to respond to the missive, he added.

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Referring to Patnaik’s meeting with Union finance Minister Arun Jaitley October 22 in Delhi he said Patnaik had urged Jait-

ley to organise a high level meeting to resolve the Posco issue.

Stating that the MoU with Posco became null and void in 2010,

Harichandan said the state government needs to sign a fresh

agreement with the South Korean company to set up the plant.

The new agreement should have provision on how the state

will benefit from the project. The ruling BJD rejected the claims

of Harichandan saying the ball in now in Centre’s court.

“To ensure raw material supply to the plant, we had requested

The Geological Survey of India (GSI) will be making an assess-

ment of bauxite ore deposits existing in Damchun block of

Balrampur district in Chhattisgarh.

Notably, Chhattisgarh accounted for 6.07 per cent of the total

bauxite production in the country in 2013-14, as per the annual

report of the Union Ministry of Mines.

Gujarat had the maximum 32.41 per cent share in bauxite pro-

duction while Jharkhand had 10.53 per cent share and Maha-

rashtra had 9.51 per cent share. The remaining bauxite produc-

tion was reported from Goa, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, it stat-

ed.

Incidentally, the total value of mineral production (excluding

atomic & minor minerals) in the country during June 2015 was

`18,194 crore. The contribution of coal was the highest at

`6662 crore (37per cent). Next in the order of importance were

— petroleum (crude) `5636 crore, iron ore `1847 crore, natural

gas (utilised) `2164 crore, lignite `516 crore and limestone

`490 crore. These six minerals together contributed about 95 per

cent of the total value of mineral production in June 2015.

Production level of important minerals in June 2015 were: coal

465 lakh tonnes, lignite 39 lakh tonnes, natural gas (utilised)

2617 million cu.m., petroleum (crude) 31 lakh tonnes, bauxite

1524 thousand tonnes, chromite 220,00 tonnes, copper conc.

10,000 tonnes, gold 100 kg., iron ore 106 lakh tonnes, lead conc.

21,000 tonnes, manganese ore 173,000 tonnes, zinc conc. 130,000

tonnes, apatite & phosphorite 171,000 tonnes, limestone 249

lakh tonnes, magnesite 18,000 tonnes and diamond 2678 carat.

The production of important minerals showing positive

growth during June 2015 over June 2014 include ‘apatite & phosphorite’ (205.6 per cent), ‘chromite’ (43.6 per cent), ‘lead conc.’ (41.3 per cent), ‘zinc conc.’ (27.5 per cent), ‘copper conc.’ (13.7 per cent), ‘limestone’ (3.4 per cent) and ‘coal’ (2.2 per cent). The production of other important minerals showing

negative growth are: ‘petroleum (crude)’ [(-) 0.8 per cent], ‘iron ore’ [(-) 5.9 per cent], ‘natural gas (utilised)’ [(-) 7.4 per cent],

‘lignite’ [(-) 8.7 per cent], ‘bauxite’ [(-) 10.0 per cent],

‘manganese ore’ [(-) 13.8 per cent], ‘magnesite’ [(-) 24.7 per

cent], ‘gold’ [(-) 27.5 per cent] and ‘diamond’ [(-) 31.9 per cent],

officials stated.

Moreover, Chhattisgarh had 7.48 per cent share in total value of

mineral production in the country during 2014-15, according to

the annual report of the Union Ministry of Mines. As per the

report, Rajasthan had share of 11.49 per cent, Gujarat ( 8.85 per

cent), Andhra Pradesh ( 8.25 per cent), Chhattisgarh ( 7.48 per

cent) followed by Jharkhand ( 7.37 per cent), Odisha ( 6.38 per

cent), Maharashtra ( 5.35 per cent), Madhya Pradesh ( 4.70 per

cent), West Bengal ( 4.32 per cent), Assam (4.04 per cent), Kar-

nataka (2.96 per cent) and Uttar Pradesh ( 2.72 per cent).

The remaining States and Union Territories having individual

share of less than 2.5 per cent all together accounted for remain-

ing of total value of mineral production during the year under

review, the report stated.

State-wise analysis revealed that during 2014-15, the value of

mineral production have shown a mixed trend as compared to

the previous year.

The States which have indicated an increase in the value of min-

eral production are -- Tripura (14.3 per cent), Karnataka ( 1.6

per cent), Bihar (6.6 per cent), Himachal Pradesh ( 16.5 per

cent), Mehgalaya ( 61.6 per cent), Uttar Pradesh ( 0.8 per cent)

and Chhattisgarh ( 0.7 per cent).

During 2014-15, mineral production was reported from 33

states and union territories which is actual reporting from Min-

eral Conservation and Development Rules ( MCDR) and fuel

minerals from 23 states and estimation of minor minerals for all

the 32 states and union territories of which the bulk of value of

mineral production of about 94.18 per cent was confined to 13

states ( including off shore areas) only, it stated.

Offshore areas are in leading position in terms of value of min-

eral production in the country and had the share of 20.27 per

cent in the national output, the report stated.

GSI TO ASSESS BAUXITE DEPOSITS EXISTING IN DAMCHUN BLOCK

VOLUME 2 , ISSUE 12 — NOVEMBER 2015

Page 7

ODISHA STATE PLANS TO REVIVE BAUXITE MINING PROJECT IN NIYAMGIRI

HILLS , INDIA Indian state Odisha is planning to revive Vedanta Resources'

bauxite mining project on top of the Niyamgiri Hills, a forest-

ed area that the local Dongria Kondh tribe considers sacred.

Vedanta Resources has planned to mine the Niyamgiri Hill

range, which is believed to be the home of deity Niyam Ra-

jawhich, who is worshipped by the tribe.

The company formed a joint venture with the state-owned

Odisha Mining Corporation to develop the Niyamgiri mine,

under a memorandum of understanding.

Niyamgiri Hills contains 72 million tonnes of bauxite, which

the firm intended to mine to feed its alumina refinery plant at

Lanjigarh, Odisha.

Now, the state government is again making a fresh attempt to

mine the ecologically fragile hill as its OMC is still the lease-

holder.

In 2010, the Union Environment Ministry originally rejected

Vedanta's proposal to mine bauxite from the area.

However, Vedanta and its partner OMC filed an appeal with

the Supreme Court against this decision.

In April 2013, India's top court ruled that the decision to allow

Vedanta Resources to mine bauxite in two districts of Orissa state

rests with local tribes.

Subsequently, the state held meetings in 12 villages to discuss the

environmental and religious issues, and the rights of the tribes.

Hwoever, the tribes opposed Vedanta's plans and the proposal

had to be shelved.

Currently, Odisha steel and mines minister Prafulla Mallick said:

"The state government is keen to hold gram sabhas again for Ni-

yamgiri bauxite mining. We will seek legal opinion on whether

we should seek permission of the Supreme Court or the Union

Ministry of Environment and Forest to conduct the gram sabhas."

However, the state government will find it difficult to relaunch

the gram sabha meetings on this issue.

Mines expert and former director of mines with Odisha govern-

ment B K Mohanty was quoted by Business Standard as saying:

"The gram sabhas for Niyamgiri bauxite mining were conducted

as per the directions of the Supreme Court. Now, the state govern-

ment has to seek permission from the apex court to start the pro-

cess again. I believe this is going to be tough."

CHATTISGARH: NAXALS TORCH MINING VEHICLE S , PR IVATE BUS Naxals on Friday torched 26 vehicles at an iron ore mine in

Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Kanker district, the action com-

ing after they had targeted a private operator's bus in Bijapur

district last night, police said.

Nobody was injured in these incidents, they added.

A group of armed Naxals raided the Chargaon iron ore mine

in the Siksod police station area this morning and, after threat-

ening and asking the labourers and drivers to clear out,

torched 26 vehicles that were in service at the site, Kanker SP

Jitendera Singh Meena told PTI.

After torching the vehicles -- 24 trucks and 2 tippers -- the

Maoists fled into the forest, he said.

A police team was immediately rushed to the spot and a

search operation has been launched in the area to nab the ul-

tras, the SP added.

Maoists are reportedly opposed to iron ore mining in the area

by a particular company. Four officials of the company,

including a general manager, were kidnapped by Naxals on April

1 this year from Chargaon iron ore reserve. They were released

the same day.

Last night, in Bijapur district, the Naxals set ablaze a bus after

asking its passengers to alight.

The incident occurred near Dudheda village under Madded po-

lice station limits when the bus, run by a private operator, was on

its way to Bhopalpatnam from Jagdalpur district headquarters, a

senior police official said.

Naxals also fired at another passenger bus on the same route, but

no one was injured in the two incidents.

Before fleeing, the ultras threw some pamphlets accusing police

of not producing one of their arrested colleagues in court, the

official said.

On October 25, Naxals had set ablaze at least 37 vehicles and ma-

chines engaged in road construction work in Bijapur district.

TOUGH TIMES PROMPT VISA STEEL TO THINK O UT OF THE BOX In 1994, Vishambhar Saran took everyone by surprise when he

quit Tata Steel after a 25-year stint. He was director of raw

materials then. VISA Industries (later renamed VISA Steel)

was set up. The big leap for Saran came in 2003 when the com-

pany signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the

Odisha government for an integrated special and stainless

steel plant at the Kalinganagar Industrial Complex. MoUs

were also signed for plants in the mineral-producing states of

Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.

The going seemed good for a while. But like many other steel

companies, VISA Steel is now mired in a financial crisis.Last

month, VISA Steel announced that the joint lenders forum had

decided to invoke strategic debt restructuring (SDR) in ac

(Continued on Page 8)...

VOLUME 2 , ISSUE 12 — NOVEMBER 2015

Page 8

"Obviously, margins were not sufficient to service loans, so we

had to restructure loans. We raised money by selling stake in

our coke business to SunCoke Energy." In 2013, VISA Steel en-

tered into a joint venture with New York-listed SunCoke Ener-

gy, with the Indian steelmaker having a 51 per cent stake.

But it wasn't enough. The external factors worsened. The shared

coal block - the only captive raw material linkage that it got - in

which VISA Steel's share was 54 million tonne, was cancelled

following the Supreme Court order in 2014.

"The sharp depreciation in the Russian rouble, combined with

Chinese overcapacity, resulted in oversupply of cheap steel from

China and Russia to the world market," says Agarwal. "This led

to a global crash in steel prices, which aggravated the situation

for Indian steel producers."

Agarwal explains that a steel plant of one million tonne requires

a capex of at least Rs 6,000 crore, assuming interest cost of 12 per

cent. The interest and equity servicing requires Rs 720 crore per

annum or EBIDTA margin of Rs 7,200 per tonne of steel. A loan

of Rs 4,000 crore (assuming a debt/equity ratio of 2:1) requires a

margin of at least Rs 200 crore per annum or Rs 2,000 per tonne

of steel to repay the loan over 20 years.

Steel is one of the most stressed sectors and VISA Steel is the

second Kolkata-based steel company for which lenders have

invoked the SDR. In July, lenders had taken control of the man-

agement of Electrosteel Steels.

Plans for VISA group's ferrochrome project also went awry. The

chrome ore mines did not come through and prices for the con-

tracts kept changing. "When we

started, we were assured captive

iron ore, chrome ore and coal mines.

The rules of the game in the steel

industry have completely changed

as a consequence of which the in-

dustry is suffering," says Agarwal.

VISA Steel has already decided to

merge VISA Bao with itself. VISA

Steel holds a 65 per cent stake in

VISA Bao, while Baosteel has 35 per

cent. The merger would help consol-

idate the ferrochrome business,

while bringing in cost efficiencies.

VISA Steel is also in discussion with

lenders for preparing a conversion

package to enable inviting a strategic investor in its special steel

business, which will solve much of the company's problems. But

with a subdued global steel scenario, this might not be easy.

According to the World Steel Association outlook released re-

cently, the steel industry is now experiencing low growth.

Agarwal is pinning his hopes on the government to extend the

safeguard duty to the entire value chain, which, at present, is

restricted to hot rolled coils. That could provide some succour,

even if it is just for a short time.

cordance with the Reserve Bank of India circular dated June 8,

2015.SDR is invoked if the borrower is unable to achieve the

viability milestones or adhere to "critical conditions" stipulated

in the restructuring package. The debt on the company's books

as on March 2015 was in excess of Rs 3,000 crore.

"In December 2003, we signed the MoU and started construction

in April 2004. The blast furnace was commissioned a year later

in March and a year after that came the coke plant," recalls

Saran's son, Vishal Agarwal, who is the vice-chairman and man-

aging director of VISA Steel. The ferrochrome plant, sponge

iron and power plants, steel melt shop and rolling mill fol-

lowed.

Expansion drive

Till 2004, VISA group was active only in international trading

and the main products included chrome ore, iron ore, coal and

ferro alloys.

Mineral-rich states like Odisha had by then become a magnet

for investors when the commodity cycle was peaking in 2003-04.

The state's message was simple and alluring: come and put up a

plant and you will get mines. The criteria was that with 25 per

cent investment, the mines would be recommended and with 50

per cent, the mines would be granted. In VISA Steel's case, this

meant coal blocks, iron ore and chrome ore mines.

Companies flocked to Odisha in droves. As many as 50 inves-

tors, including ArcelorMittal and Posco, signed MoUs with the

state that promised to put up a capacity of 79.82 million tonne at

a cost of Rs 2.22 lakh crore. VISA Steel

was one of the many.

Backed by the growth story, VISA

Steel went for an IPO in 2006 to raise

around Rs 200 crore. The draft red

herring prospectus had, in fact, listed

raw material linkages as one of its

competitive strengths. "The govern-

ment of Orissa through an MoU signed

with us dated December 26, 2003 has

assured grant of iron ore mining lease,"

read the document. That didn't hap-

pen.

Sometime in 2007, VISA Steel entered

into a joint venture agreement

with Baosteel Trading , China, and

VISA Comtrade, Switzerland, for the

ferrochrome project, which was to operate through a separate

company called VISA Bao. Baosteel Trading is an arm of

Baosteel Steel Group Corporation, one of China's leading steel

companies, while VISA Comtrade is the international trading,

shipping and logistics arm of the VISA group. At that point in

time, India's steel story was shining. By 2010, however, the sec-

tor had lost its sheen when the Justice MB Shah Commission

clamped down on mining. "Iron ore production came down

from 220 million tonne to 130 million tonne. There was an artifi-

cial shortage and prices were unviable," says Agarwal.

VOLUME 2 , ISSUE 12 — NOVEMBER 2015

Page 9

RELIANCE INFRASTRUCTURE PLANS TO EXIT CEMENT BUSINESS , PUTS UNIT ON

BLOCK Reliance Infrastructure, part of Anil Ambani led Reliance

Group has decided to exit the cement business by putting pri-

vately held Reliance Cements up for sale.

Reliance Group has recently mandated Morgan Stanley and

SBI Caps to find potential buyers as the group has decided to

focus on new growth areas like defence. Earlier in the year, it

had plans to monetise the cement oper-

ations by roping in a joint venture part-

ner and using that cash to fund the ac-

quisition of Pipavav Defence and Off-

shore Engineering, but this did not gen-

erate sufficient interest, said multiple

sources aware of the developments.

Reliance Cement is a fully-owned sub-

sidiary of Reliance Infra. Started in

2007, the cement foray was originally

linked to the growth of its power busi-

ness with fly ash generated from its

Sasan power project being used as a

key raw material. Promoters are be-

lieved to be expecting an enterprise

valuation of Rs 5,500-Rs 6,000 crore for

the business. The company has a total

installed capacity of 5.8 million tonnes

per annum (mtpa). Of this 2.8 MTPA is

at the flagship unit in Maihar Madhya

Pradesh that was commissioned last

year. The remaining units are in

Kundaganj (UP) and Butiburi in Maha-

rastra. The company also has leases to

extract limestone in Madhya Pradesh,

Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Chattisgargh,

Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Reliance Cements is sold in UP, MP,

Jharkhand, West Bengal and in select

cities of Maharashtra.

The original plan was to scale up opera-

tions to 15 MTPA over the next 3-5

years with integrated units in MP and

Maharashtra, but the capital intensive

plans were put on the back burner as

the group got saddled with high debt in

the recent years. Reliance Infra's total debt stood at around Rs

25,766 crore at the end of FY-15. The limestone reserves are

believed to be sufficient for the fully expanded capacity.

At the recently concluded Annual General Meeting, Group

Chairman Anil Ambani told shareholders it would look at

divesting stake in non-core businesses including cement to

bring down debt

The sources cited say that feelers have already gone out to multi-

ple global suitors including CRH of Ireland, Mexican major Ce-

mex, Paris-headquartred Vicat and Dangote of Nigeria. Domestic

players like Emami, Dalmia Cements Bharat, India Cements and

Shree Cements have also been approached. Global private equity

buyout funds have also been approached.

Mails sent to CRH, Cemex,

Vicat and Dangote did not

generate a response till the

time of going to press.

Puneet Dalmia, MD, Dalmia

Cements Bharat could not be

contacted on his mobile. "We

are not interested in Reliance

Cements and will not partici-

pate in any auction process,"

HM Bangur, MD, Shree Ce-

ments told ET. The India Ce-

ments spokesperson said "we

are not aware of any such pro-

posal, so we would not like to

make any comment

recent times, the latest being

Birla Corp's acquisition of 2 of

Lafarge's units in Chhattisgarh

and Jharkhand for an enter-

prise value of Rs 5,000 crore.

That deal however has still not

closed amidst regulatory un-

certainty over transfer of lime-

stone mines

"Reliance Cements sale will

not get impacted as this is a

share sale as oppose to the

earlier slump sale of assets.

They are selling shares of the

company which owns the min-

ing and prospective leases and

that is permissible," explained

an official aware of the matter.

ince 2008, Anil Ambani had

been targeting to emerge as the one of the biggest cement players

in the country with the largest single location cement facility. It

had initially planned to set up four cement plants of 5 million

tonnes capacity each at a total investment of Rs. 10,000 crore. All

the units were to come up in Madhya Pradesh so that they could

have leveraged the strengths of the group's Sasan ultra mega

power project. Ambani had even roped in the former MD of Am-

buja Cements Anil Singhvi, to lead the group's cement foray but

Singhvi left the company after the initial years.

Page 10

Chief minister Raghubar Das on Wednesday directed principal

secretary (mines) S K Sathpathy to sort out issues related to

resumption of copper and uranium mining in East Singhbhum

district.

Das assured the technical director of Uranium Corporation of

India Limited (UCIL), S K Srivastava, and company secretary B

C Gupta along with the chairman-cum-managing director

(CMD) of Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL) K D Diwan of full

cooperation on part of the state government.

Both the UCIL and HCL officials apprised Das about the diffi-

culties they have been facing in extending the mining area due

to overlapping. Das said the government is committed to push-

ing industrialization in the state, while also working towards

reviving closed mines. "Mining activities will not only generate

employment in the state, but will also boost local economy,"

Das said, adding that the activities of these companies under

their corporate social responsibility (CSR) mission helps im-

prove the region's social infrastructure.

Das directed Srivastava and Diwan to ensure that both

companies extend a helping hand to farmers and work towards

improving irrigation facilities in villages. He also asked the

companies to invest in building toilets in government schools.

Responding to queries, HCL said as part of its CSR initiative,

they have already distributed farming tools and built toilets in

48 schools. "Productivity in the region has increased by more

than 25% owing to the use of farming tools," said Diwan.

Srivastava said UCIL too, under its CSR initiative, has supplied

benches and desks to government schools and also assured of

working towards electrifying schools.

In the presence of local parliamentarian Bidyut Baran Mahto,

the CM asked both the companies to cooperate and also extend

a help in ensuring that the Borabandh water reservoir project is

completed on time. The check dam would ensure irrigation

facility in the region.

The CM also asked both the companies to cooperate and extend

help in ensuring that the Borabandh water reservoir project is

completed on time. The check dam will ensure irrigation facility

in the region

VOLUME 2 , ISSUE 12 — NOVEMBER 2015

RAIPUR: Under attack from the Congress for it recent decision

of "changing" the stamp duty calculations on mining lease from

the bidding amount to royalty, Chhattisgarh government on

Friday claimed that the same had been done to bring more clari-

ty in laws and as per the precedence in the neighbouring states

of Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.

Earlier this month , the state government promulgated an ordi-

nance changing calculations of stamp duty to collect it on the

basis of the royalty being paid by the lessee and not on the bid

amount paid by them. The government's earlier calculations of

stamp duties on bid amounts had led to non-execution of lease

deed, as the amount payable was much more, 100 times more,

than anticipated by the lessees and it had virtually stranded

mining operations in the state for the last over six months.

According to industry officials, the prior to the re-auction of the

mines during Modi regime, post the so-called 'coalgate scandal',

stamp duty was calculated on the basis of royalty of the

"mineral commodity". Elaborating, the officials said a coal mine

with production capacity of 1 million tonnes per annum

(MTPA) had to pay about was Rs 3.9 crores for stamp duty.

However, if the same was calculated on the basis of the bid

amount, a coal mine with a capacity of 1 MTPA auctioned at the

rate of Rs 3000 per tonne would have resulted in the lessee pay-

ing Rs 300 crore as stamp duty and Rs 225 crore as registration

fee.

According to Minister for Commercial Taxes, Amar Agrawal,

the state government sought a legal opinion on the issue and an

ordinance was promulgated to amend the Stamp Duty Act and

bring more clarity to it. He said with this amendment bidder

who participates in auction of coal, minerals and minor minerals

would be able get clarity on making an assessment about the

stamp duty to be paid so that it could become convenient for

them to decide on bidding price.

He said many states, including neighbouring Madhya Pradesh

and Odisha, are already calculating stamp duty on the basis of

royalty.

The Congress, which smelled a rat in the ordinance, had accused

the government of purposely doing so to benefit private compa-

nies and industrialists. However, Agrawal claimed that there

was nothing wrong in the ordinance and the state exchequer

would not incur any loss due to the amendment.

JHARKHAND CM TO HELP UCIL , HCL RESUME MI NING

CHHATTISGARH GOVT RELAXES MINING STAMP DUTY, SPARKS ROW

HINDUSTAN COPPER LIM ITED DEC IDES TO EXPAND AT THE SURDA COPPER

MINE IN JHARKHAND

KOLKATA: Hindustan Limited (HCL), the country's largest

state run copper producer, has decided to go ahead with its

expansion plans at the Surda copper mine in Jharkhand.

The project will be taken up by Aussie mining company, India

Resources Limited (IRL) through its wholly owned subsidiary,

India Resources Copper Mining Private Limited (ICMPL). Fol-

lowing a period of protracted negotiation to iron out outstand-

ing issues, ICMPL recently signed a MoU with Shriram

(Continued on Page 11)….

VOLUME 2 , ISSUE 12 — NOVEMBER 2015

Page 11

EPC (SEPC) as the prinicipal contractor to HCL for the project

for the immediate recommencement of the Surda Expansion

project, IRL said.

"All three parties HCL, IRL and SEPC contributed to reaching

this agreement and it represents a positive outcome for all

stakeholders," IRL which is listed on the Australian Stock Ex-

change said in a statement on Monday.

The Surda Expansion contract was suspended in September

2014 following the issue of a stop work order by HCL as a re-

sult of delays in the renewal of the mining license for Surda

project. Incidentally, Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL) has

been operating its Surda mines by outsourcing the work to IRL

since 2007. SEPC had earlier won the over Rs 206-crore con-

tract through bidding.IRL had made an investment of around

Rs 75 crore to re-commission and develop the mine in last sev-

en years and was able to increase production by 60% from

when HCL worked the mine. Earlier in June 2015, operations had

recommenced at Surda copper mine one of HCL's productive

mines, after a gap of over nine months.

Following the recent agreement, high speed sinking of the shaft is

scheduled to commence within the next three months following

completion of initial infrastructure work by ICMPL. SEPC is re-

sponsible for all the funding aspects of the project along with the

supply of equipment. ICMPL is the project manager and is re-

sponsible for arranging working capital.

The Surda Expansion project will run for five years and run con-

current to the work order for Surda Copper mine operated by

IRL. The only integrated copper producer is also inching closer

towards re-opening the Rakha copper mines in Jharkhand at a

cost of nearly Rs 100 crore. IRL is also preparing to work at the

Rakha copper mines project with HCL currently involved in get-

ting environment clearance for the project.

KARNATAKA, PUNJAB DROP EMTA AS MINING DEVELOPMENT OPERATOR After being rapped by the central govern-

ment, Karnatakaand Punjab power utilities have cancelled the

appointment of private firm EMTA (formerly Eastern Minerals

& Trading Agency) as the mining development opera-

tor (MDO) for the mines allotted to them in the coal auction.

The power departments of the two states have also issued

fresh tenders to select another MDO.

In the coal allotment process in March, Karnataka Power Cor-

poration Limited (KPCL) was allotted a cluster of mines -

Baranj-I to -IV, Kiloni, and Manora Deep - in Maharashtra,

while Punjab State Power Corporation (PSPC) got Pachwara

Central in Jharkhand. These mines were allotted for the utili-

ties to run their power plants.

In July, KPCL and PSPC appointed EMTA as their MDO to

execute the mining of coal for power production rather than

selecting the MDO through a tender process. The coal ministry

slapped a show-cause notice on these two utilities, seeking an

explanation for bypassing the tender route.

Government officials said the guidelines for re-allocation of

coal blocks have clearly mentioned that the MDO should be

hired through a transparent process.

Under the guidelines, "public sector allocattee is allowed to hire

MDO for technical assistance in mining. However, joint venture

of any kind with a private company is not allowed."

The guidelines also suggested MDOs be selected through a fair

and transparent tender process.

EMTA was the MDO for these two state utilities when they

owned the coal blocks, allocation of which was cancelled by the

Supreme Court (SC) last year. In some cases, while the mine was

allotted to the states, the holding stake of the joint venture was

with the private MDO. EMTA had a 74 per cent stake in the joint

venture with these two state power utilities, when the SC order

struck down the arrangement.

Ujjal Upadhayay-promoted EMTA had signed joint ventures with

seven states, holding close to 74 per cent share.The coal reserves

were estimated to be close to 1.7 billion tonnes.

EMTA is one of the key accused in the coal scam case for alleged-

ly ignoring the clauses for forming joint ventures and getting pe-

cuniary gains through the arrangement. MDO are supposed to be

hired on contract.

INDIA EXPLORES JOINT ROUTE TO GET URANIU M FROM NAMIBIA India may consider options including joint exploration with

the Namibian government for uranium as Delhi has yet to

receive even an ounce of the yellow cake under a supply deal

signed with the African country six years ago. No government

-to-government trade is currently possible because the mines

are privately owned with the government having little say on

supplies, Namibian officials said.

On last Wednesday, Namibian President Hage Geingob ex-

plained this situation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, peo-

ple familiar with their discussion on the sidelines of the Africa-

India Forum Summit in New Delhi said. "The government

does not own uranium," one of these people quoted Geingob

as saying.

Uranium in Namibia can only be acquired through securing

prospecting licences, Geingob told the PM. India has the option

of negotiating with existing companies that are mining uranium

in Namibia. There is also the option for India and Namibia to

collaborate via a joint exploration project, the president said.

According to a statement issued by the office of the Namibian

president, Modi responded positively by saying that India

would work towards putting mechanisms in place to pursue

these options. "India is keen to promote clean energy and, due to

this, the country needs uranium," the statement quoted Modi as

saying.

(Continued on Page 12)...

Page 12

time, Erkki Nghimtina, had said his country could start export-

ing uranium oxide to India, since it is no longer subject to the

embargo on international nuclear trade. Officials on both sides

will figure out a mechanism to commence supplies to India.

VOLUME 2 , ISSUE 12 — NOVEMBER 2015

REVAMP GEOLOGIST CADRE, SAYS ASSN BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Geological Service Association

has urged the State Government to restructure the service ca-

dres of officers of the Directorate of Geology in the Steel and

Mines department.

The Association, in its 25th annual general body meeting here

on Sunday, expressed concern over lack of promotional avenue

for geologists, petrologists and geophysicists of the Directorate.

While entry level posts of many services of the State Govern-

ment have already been upgraded to Class-I, these qualified

employees of the Directorate of Geology have been stagnating

in the same position for more than 25 years, Association general

secretary Prabal Kumar Chand rued.

A large number of vacancies in the Directorate has also

jeopardised the mineral exploration programmes of the Gov-

ernment, Chand said.

Minister of State for Steel and Mines Prafulla Kumar Mallik

assured the meeting that the demands of the Association will be

looked into.

New office-bearers of the association for 2015-16 were elected

in the meeting. Anup Kumar Raut and Shubhransu Mishra

were elected as president and general secretary, respectively.

Bikash Chandra Sahoo was elected as vice-president and Dhar-

mendra Sharma was re-elected as secretary, technical. Mano-

ranjan Behera and Md Qaiser Jamal Khan were elected as joint

secretaries.

Namibia and India signed an agreement on cooperation in the

field of peaceful uses of nuclear energy and a memorandum of

understanding on geology and mineral resources in 2009. After

signing the 2009 agreement, Namibia's mines minister at the

DISCLAIMER: This is a compilation of various news appeared in different sources. In this issue we have tried to do an honest compilation. This edition is exclusively for information purpose and not for any commercial use. Your suggestions are most valuable.

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